Reciprocating pump



A. F. RUTHVEN- REcIrR'ocATING PUMP Oct. 1,1929.-

Filed Febl. 12, 192'? 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Ott. 1, 1929 UNITEDSTATES PajrlsyzivrV ori-'lcs y maar r. mrrHvEN, or cLnvELANn, omo

Bnciraocarmo rtm1 application mea February 12,1927. semi no, 167,709.

' 5 tionto provide a reciprocating `pump which elimina-tes leather andother packings, which reduces friction and wear to a minimum, and whichis especially suitable for pumping water or oil containing sand. v

Another object of the invention is the provision of a reciprocatory pumpincluding a leatherless floating plunger which operates freely and withminimum. friction and wear,

the arrangement being such "that there are' lms or sheets of liquidbetween the relatively movable parts, constituting liquid packing, andkeeping the metal parts out of contact.v

A further object is to provide a pump embodying telescoping tubularmembers or sections constitutin the pump chamber, with said members outo contactwith one another to provide liquidspaces between them, and theends of such members so formed as to maintain said members concentricand out of contact when the members are moved together. l

A still further object is to provide a pump of the character indica-tedcomprising a`novel assembly of the Acomponent elements whereby water andoil from deep wells, with a minimum possibility of the pump beinimpaired in its operation .bythe presence o sand.

It is also an ob]ect of the invention to improve the pump generally inits construction and details tov enhance the utility and efciencythereof. p l

With the fore oing and other objects in view, which will e apparent asthe description proceeds, the invention resides in the construction andarrangement of parts, as hereinafter described and claimed, it beingunderstood that changes c`an be vmade within the scope of what isclaimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention isillustrated in the accom.

panying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is avertical section of a deep wellump embodying the improvements, portions being broken away,

the pump is especially suitable for pumping Fig. ;2 is a verticalsection of a modiied construction of deep well pump, portions beingbroken away. f

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a modified form of plunger, showing thebarrel in section.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section of a force pump embodying the improvements,portions being broken away.

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail illustrating a modification in the form ofgrooves.

Referring to Fig. 1, 10 indicates the usual pump barrel at the lower endof the well casmg, and having attached to its lower end the usual liquidinlet member 11 having a tapered 'y .seat 12 therein in which is seatedthe lower ,tapered portion 13 of a valve seat 14 on which \a ball 15 orother valve member is seatable to provide the 'lower check valve of thepump. The valve seat '14 has a cage 16 confining the ball or valvemember 15 for movement thereml and is adapted to be lifted through thebairel 10. v A tubular member or sleeve 17 has its lower endscrew-threaded or otherwise secured on the valve seat 14 and cage 16,and an annular coupling member 18 is screwthreaded or otherwise securedwithin the upper end of the sleeve 17 and has an upstanding annularflange 19 screw-threaded 'interiorly and exteriorly to receive the lowerends of upstanding pump tubes or sections 20 and 21. The pump tubes 20,21 have a telescopic relation with depending Apump tubes or sections 23,24, so as to constitute a pump chamber that may be increased and delcreased-in length to produce the pumping action. The upper end of thetube 23 is screw-threaded on a tubular valve seat 25 which has anoutstanding annular lange 26 on which the upper end of the tube 24 isscrew'- threaded. A ball 27 or other valvemember is seatable on the seat25 to constitute an upper check valve for'the pump, and a cage 28 isscrew-threaded on the seat 25 over the valve member 27 and also providesmeans for the connection of the lower end of the pump rod (not shown).lThe tubes 23, 24 and upper check valve constitute the plunger of the ppump which is reciprocated vertically.

The tubes 20, 21, 23, 24 are of such diameter as to provide mininfrumclearances between such concentric tubes, and between theoutermost tube2 4 and the barrel 10, so as to permit said tubes to remain out ofcontact and V to restrict'as much as possible the flow of liquld betweenthe tubes. The tubes may be of any suitable length according to thelength of pump stroke desired, and the plunger is free to float, thatis, it is capable of" transverse movement relatively to the tubes 20,21, but the films or sheets of liquid between the tubes will keep themout of contact, .to thereby reduce friction and wear to a minimum. Theupper terminals of the tubes 20, 2 1 and lower terminals of the tubes23, 24 are bevelled or tapered, both internally and externall as at 29,in order that when the upper an lower tubes 1aretelescoped together,said terminals of the tubes will divide the liquid which they encounter,thereby directing the li uid be- 29 tween the upper and lower tubes eectively and distributlng the liquid to the inner and outer sides of theintermediate tubes 21, 23 1 n order to keep t-he tubes out of Contact.This makes the pum free acting without the tubes contacting witi oneanother, and the pump operates with negligible friction.

. When the plunger is raised the valve member Y27 is seated, so that theliquid above the plunger is lifted, and the um chamber being enlargedwill draw llqui through the inlet member 11 and past the valve member15. i The clearances between the pump tubes being small, as well as theclearance between Cil the outermost tube 24 and barrel 10, will restrictthe flow of liquid downwardly between the tube 24 and barrel 10 andbetween the tubes, so that during thevlifting action little or no liquidwill be drawn Vfrom above the plunger into the pump chamber.. When theplunger'is raised the spaces between the tubes 20, 21 and'between thetubes 23, 24, beyond the ends of the respective tubes 23 and 21, will beenlarged, which will have a tendency to draw the liquidbetweenjthegrtubes, and

. this tendency will eiginend into' the pump chamber as well as abovethe plunger, thereb creating an/equalizingaction, which inl add-1- tionto the resistance voffered to the/flow of liquid between the tubes,

when the ber to a minimum, especiall lplunger is reciprocated at a suciently high speed. The plunger may move downwardly freely, the valvemember 27 opening to permit the liquid in the pump chamber to passupwardly above said valve member. The pump l therefore operates as alift pump. v

In order to lift the lower portion of the pump with the upperportion orplunger thereof, the tube 20 is formed on the exterior near its upperend,with a shoulderor Collar 30 land the tube 23 is formed on theinterior near its lower end with a shoulder or collar 31, and theshoulder or collar 30 seating on the shoulder or collar 31 of theplunger will will reduce leakage from above the plunger into the pumpchamlift the tube 20 and other parts connected thereto so that they maybe removed from the well with the plunger. y

A cushion or shock absorber is preferably used to arrest the downwardmovement'of the'plunger, should same be excessive. Thus,

as shown, a coiled spring 32 seats on the` ends thereof. The end of thetube 24 which contacts with the buffer 33 may be flattened slightly, ifdesired, for contact with said buHer. i i

' Drain holes 34 are formedin the tube 20 immediatel above the flange 19in order that sand or ot er sediment dropping between {alht tubes 20, 21may pass down through said o es, in the member 18 at the lower end ofthe tube 21 -to permit sand to 'pass downwardly and and drainholes 35are also providedv thus avoid the accumulation of. sand above saidmember 18.

Inorder to oer resistance tothe downi ward iow of liquid between thetube 24 and -.barrel 10a-nd to also avoid interference with theoperation of the plunger by sand, the eX- l Iterior surface' of the tube24 and interior surface of the barrel 10 are formed with cooperatinggrooves 36. These grooves may be either. clrcular or spiral like screwthreads, and the grooves may be 1n bands .or zones, .as

shown, or may be arranged otherwise. The

grooves may also extend for anysuitable-disl tance vertically of thetube 24 and barrel. The grooves are of ratchet form with lowersubstantially horizontal walls clined or bevelled walls. pose ofincreasing the resistance offered to the liquid flowing downwardlybetween the plunger and barrel, as well as aiding lin the and upper in-Thisis for the purf eliminationof sand between the plunger andV vbarrel. Thu s, tween the plunger and barrel encounters the lower wallsof the`grooves, thereby creating liquid flowing downwardly-be-- eddiesand otherwise offering resistance to thee,

downward flowlofthe liquid, so as to reduce to a minimum the `.fiow ofthe liquid from above the valve member'27 into thevpump chamber when theplunger is raised.I However, when the plunger is moved downwardly thegrooves 36 ojfer less resistance to the upward fiow of liquid betweenthe plunger and barrel. The grooves 36 also aid indisposing ofisandwhich may accumulate around the plunger within the barrel, especiallyafter the pump has been stopped for a period of time. Thus, any sandwhich may have accumulated between the plunger and` barrel is readilyloosened, due to the presence of the grooves I 36, inv which theparticles of sand may move, and the plunger may thus be started muchmore readil than with the ordinary pump plunger. T ie plunger is thusfreed quickly even though the clearance between the plungupward movementof the sand but retards the downward 'movement thereof between theplunger and barrel. Thus, by the .provision ofthe grooves 36 the leakageof liquid from above the plunger into the pump chamber is not onlyretarded, but the pump is also made more eiicient in the pumping ofwater and` oil containing sand, it being well known that the presence ofsand is egtremely troublesome in ordinary deep wellpumps.

In some cases the inner tubes 20, 23 may be eliminated, using only thetubes 21, 24, and in other cases boththe upper and lower portions of thepump may have three or more tubes,

t such as for a slow acting pump. l

It is also possible to use the grooves 36 in t surfaces of the tubes, orsaid Agrooves may) e omitted, as seen in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 illustrates a more simple construction. The tube 20aisscrew-threaded on the cage 16a of the valve ball or member 15, and

said cage 16- and tube 21a are screw-threaded on the seat member 14awhich has the tapered portion 13 fitted in the seat 12a of the liquidinlet member 11a that is screw-threaded on the lowerend of the pumpbarrel 10". The tubes 23a, 24a are screw-threaded on the seat member 25aof the' upper check valve which has the valve ball or member27a bearingon said seat member 25, and a cage 28a is screwthreaded on the member25a. i This provides a more simple assembly, andthe shoulders 30, 31,spring 32 andbufer 33, apertures 34, 35 and grooves 36 are omitted. l

. Fig. 3illustrates a greater clearance between the outer tube'24b ofthe plunger and the barrel 10b, with collars 36" on the tube 24",

to offer resistance to the flow of liquid between the plunger andbarrel, the edges of said collars bein bevelled as shown. The collarscreate ed ies, so as to create resistance to the flow of liquid betweenthe rel, and any number of c ol on the tube 24".

' Fig. 4 illustrates a force pump, such as may be `used at the upper endof the well casing for forcing the liqui to a higher level into a tank.This type of pump may be used for otherv ars may be used purposes,however.

The pumpbarrel 1i()c has its lower end screw-threaded on a couplingmember 18c which is screw-threadedwithin a tubular secplunger and barf`tion 17 l whichis in turn connected by a coupling member 14c with theupper end of the well casing 37. l The member 14c has openings thereinaround the plunger rod 38, for the'upward flow lof the liquid, and checkvalves 15c are seatable in said openings to prevent the downward flow ofthe liquid. The section 17" liquid. in the well casing is lifted so asto lift theliquid past the check valves 15c into the force pump, andwhen the pump rod is moved downwardl the valves 15 are closed, and theliquid in t e pump is forced through the valve 27 c. Y

The ends of the tubes are tapered or bevelled, as at 29C, and,as shown,the confronting surfaces of the tube 24c and barrel 10c have the grooves36c which are of ratchet form but ina position reverse to. that showninFig. 1, Ato resist the upward flow of the li uid between the plunger andbarrel from the pump chamber, this being a force pump. Any liquidleaking fromthe pump chamdown through the head 25 which has the When therod 38 is raised, the column of` ber and passing above the plunger' mayflow' apertures 39 for that purpose, with check valves 40 seatingupwardly to close said apertures whenthe plunger moves down;

wardly, thel` valvesor balls 40 being supported in cages 41 carried bythe head 25.

Fig. 5 shows the grooves 36d with upper land lower. square or horizontalwalls so asv to be effective in both the upwardl and downward movementof the liquid between the portions which has the grooves. Having thusdescribed the invention, what is claimed as new is 1.- A pump comprisinga barrel, an expansion and contraction chamber in said barrel includingtelescoping tubes, and means for w the inlet of liquid to and the outletthereof from said chamber, the telescoped ends of said tubes beingbevelled to directv the liquid between the tubes. f

'2. A pump comprisinga barrel, an inlet member attached to the lower endthereof, a valve seat seated in saidf inlet. member, a' check valveseatable on saidl seat, a sleeve secured to and upstanding from? saidVvalve seat, an

annular member fsecured on 'said sleeve, a

plunger workingin the barrel abovey the sleeve, upstanding and dependingtelescopv ing* tubescarriemby said annular member and plunger,respectively, and a check valve carried by the plunger.

3. A pump according to claim 2 wherein the annular member has drainopenings.

4. A pump according to claim 2, in combination with an annular cushionseatin on said annular member for the contact o the plunger.

5. A pump comprising a barrel, an inlet member. attached to the lowerend thereof, a valve seat seated in said inlet member and adapted to belifted through the barrel, a plurality of concentric upstanding tubesconnected with said valve seat as a unit therewith, a check valveseatable on said seat, a plunger working in the barrel'and having aplurality of depending tubes having a telescopic relation with saidupstanding. tubes,

and a check valve carried by the plunger.

6. A pump comprising a vertical barrel, a lower inlet member therefor, aplurality of concentric upstanding tubes connected with said inletmember, a check valve to prevent downward iow through said inlet member,a plunger working in the barrel and havinga plurality of depending'tubeshaving a telescopic relation with said upstanding tubes, and acheckvalve for the plunger to prevent downward flow therethrough, the Outertube of said plunger being close to the inner surface of the barrel, andth'e confronting surfaces of the barrel andlast named tube being formedwith cooperable portions to resist downward iiow of liquid between theplunger and barrel and to receive sand.

l 7 A pump'comprising a vertical barrel, a lower inlet member therefor,a plurality of concentric upstanding tubes connected with said inletmember, a check valve to preventdownward flow through said inlet member,a plunger working in the barrel and having a plurality of dependingtubes having a telescopic relation with said upstanding tubes,

and a check valve for the plunger to prevent i downward flowtherethrough, the outer tube of said plunger being close to the innersurface of the barrel, the confronting Surfaces of the barrel and lastnamed tube being formed with cooperable grooves to resist the downwardflow of liquid between the plunger and barrel and to receive sand.

In testimony whereof I-hereunto affix my l signature.

Y A. r. RUTHVEN.

